I will list a bunch of good reasons to love and appreciate Comic-Con. We can start here.
Emelia Clarke plays Daenerys Targaryen in HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” set in medieval times, based on the popular fantasy novel by George R. R. Martin. It seems to be hitting its stride and Comic-Con will help give it a boost.
You can see a profile of Emelia’s character in “Game of Thrones” here.
Filed under Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2011
In a now famous piece in The New York Times last month, the focus has been on the major pull back from Hollywood to this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego. That would seem understandable during the Great Recession. Not at the party in any significant way this year: Warner Brothers, Disney, Dreamworks, The Weinstein Company and Marvel Entertainment. No panels for “Avengers,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” or “Hunger Games.”
However, as expressed in a nice piece from CNN, at the end of the day, with 120,000 attendees and all the media coverage, Comic-Con has hardly been abandoned by Hollywood. A draw down by Hollywood is relative. Should any studio spend over $60 million on a movie like, “Scott Pilgrim v. The World,” that common sense would tell you will likely make about $30 million? The thing is, $30 million is a lot of money. Did Universal expect to make $100 million? Come on, it is a quirky offbeat comedy. Maybe Universal should have followed what Sony did with “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” and make a movie for $10 million and earn $30 million. That’s $20 million profit, not bad. Instead, they took a genuine and fun story by cartoonist Bryan Lee O’Malley and turned it into a bloated monster, with a poster that covered the whole side of the Hilton nearby Comic-Con last year, that did not earn but lost money. Is that Comic-Con’s fault somehow? This year, that same Hilton has another poster, this time it’s for “Cowboys and Aliens” and it’s smaller.
Hollywood can, or should, learn how to be more resourceful, just like the cartoonists and various geeks that are at the heart of what Comic-Con is truly about. There is supposed to be some sort of strong presence on the convention floor for “Hunger Games.” And there are viral campaigns for “Avengers” and “The Dark Knight Rises.” That sounds resourceful.
Sony rolls out the first footage of “The Amazing Spider-Man” at this year’s Comic-Con. Of course, “Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 1” is in Hall H. “Cowboys and Aliens” premieres at Comic-Con. “Captain America,” “Fright Night” and “Attack the Block” all have screenings too. It is hardly a cold shoulder from Hollywood. It is more of a sensible approach. With any luck, it will save money, maybe enough money to support yet another quirky offbeat comedy based on a genuine and fun comic book.
As first reported by Girl Gamer, the latest entry into comic cons is Comikaze. Thankfully, it sounds like a very heartfelt project by a bunch of well-meaning and totally rad comics geeks. It does not directly compete with Comic-Con in San Diego. It simply is. What exactly it will turn out to be should be pretty awesome. Keep up with them at the Official Comikaze Site!
Filed under comic books, Comic-Con
Tons and tons being promoted. This one brought a smile to my face. There will be some guy in a official Kick-Ass DVD costume and people can get their photo taken with him or something like that. Wait a minute, here’s the ad copy that basically says the same thing:
In support of the Blu-Ray/DVD release of KICK-ASS on August 3rd, Lionsgate has assembled a rag-tag team of self-made Comic Con superheroes who’ll be canvassing the convention center, looking to recruit fellow superheroes! Keep an eye out for the Kick-Ass Comic Con Ass-Kicking Committee; they’ll be armed with a life-sized DVD box where fans will be able to photograph themselves on the cover of the DVD/Blu-Ray packaging for KICK-ASS.
Filed under Comic-Con, Comic-Con International, Kick-Ass, San Diego Comic-Con
